New French cyclewear brand launched

A new French cyclewear brand has just been launched offering retro-style clothing in high-end fabrics. Café du Cycliste, based on the Côte d'Azur, is certainly emphasizing style and quality and deliberately avoiding the current pro racing look. Think Rapha and Shutt VR but with more of a French feel.

The range is essentially broken down into the Sur le Bitume performance series and the Sur le Zinc urban series.

The Michelle jersey (below) from the Sur le Bitume series, for example, is made from a lightweight merino wool/polyester fabric (55%/45%) and comes with several neat-looking details. The front zip is full length, you get plenty of pockets including ones for an iPod and pump, and the logos are embroidered. It’ll set you back £103.

The Simone jersey (below) from the Sur le Zinc series is merino/polyester (43%/57%) too but it doesn’t look especially bikey. You get pockets in the lower back although the overall appearance is more like a polo shirt. Being largely merino, it shouldn’t start to whiff if you wear it riding into town and keep it on all day. That one costs £95. You’ll pay £13 shipping too, although that’s free on orders over £176.

Rémi Clermont, one of the Café du Cycliste founders, said, “Our spirit and products stand out from what exists on the French market, and our products are available worldwide via our online shop.”

Café du Cycliste is an actual café based in Châteauneuf-Grasse, a few miles from Cannes and Antibes.

For all the details and to make orders, go to www.cafeducycliste.com.